Biographies, biographers, and interesting people

Archive for the ‘Memoirs’ Category

A couple of years ago, I read My Year with Eleanor, a memoir by Noelle Hancock. The book is about a challenge Noelle gave herself after reading a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: “Do one thing every day that scares you.”

Noelle had just lost her high-paying, high-stress job as an entertainment blogger, and had no idea what she would do next. She feared change. In fact, she was beginning to realize that she feared many things. That was when she discovered the quote from Eleanor posted on a board at a coffee shop. It inspired her to face her fears overcoming them as Eleanor Roosevelt had done so many years earlier when she went from being a timid, fearful child to becoming a prominent First Lady. Noelle decided she would spend a year challenging herself to do one scary thing each day.

She wisely understood that writing about 365 scary things would make a long boring book, so she focused on some of the bigger challenges, and she didn’t mess around when it came to facing some huge fears. Her challenges included shark diving, learning a routine on a trapeze, stand-up comedy, fighter pilot lessons, and sky diving.

As Noelle faced her fears, she learned more about Eleanor Roosevelt by reading biographies and Eleanor’s autobiographies. She weaved that information into the book showing how Eleanor continued to inspire her throughout the year. Noelle wrote about her experiences with humor, which makes My Year with Eleanor a fun, easy-to-read book.

Did reading about Noelle’s experiences inspire me to overcome any of my fears? Well, you’re reading this first entry in my blog. Blogging is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time, but I was – dare I say it? – afraid. Obviously, I wasn’t as bold as Noelle in overcoming my fear. After all, it’s taken me two years to start my blog, but now I hope to go boldly forward.

Do you have a fear that’s holding you back from achieving a dream? Maybe Noelle and Eleanor will inspire you too.